Nashville, Tenn. – The Syracuse Orange women's lacrosse team won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, defeating eighth-seeded Vanderbilt, 16-10, in Nashville. The Orange, who won its school-record 13th game of the season, will now face two-time defending national champion and top-seeded Northwestern in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The game will be held in Evanston, Ill. on Saturday.

"We are pleased with the outcome," said Syracuse head coach Lisa Miller. "Our kids fought hard. We kept fighting until we got into our rhythm."

Sophomore Katie Rowan (Delmar, N.Y.) tallied a game-high five goals to become the sixth player in school history to surpass the 100-goal plateau. Rowan reached the mark in just 34 games, becoming the fastest player and first sophomore in school history to post 100 career goals. Leigh-Ann Zimmer held the previous mark of 40 games. In addition, Rowan raised her single-season school records to 83 points and 58 goals.

"It is a great feeling," Rowan said. "We are really excited. Now we have to get ready for the next game."

Freshman Christina Dove (Bel Air, Md.) also scored five goals and added an assist to record a team-best six points in her postseason debut. Senior Ashley Pike (Watertown, N.Y.) scored three goals, while senior Melissa Pearsall (Cortland, N.Y.), junior Kristin Brady (Binghamton, N.Y.) and freshman Halley Quillinan (Glenmont, N.Y.) added a goal to round out the scoring for Syracuse (13-5). Brady also led the team with two assists and seven draw controls, while freshman Lindsay Rogers (Irondequoit, N.Y.) matched a career high with four draw controls.

Sophomore goalkeeper Amber Pardee-Hill (Lewiston, N.Y.) stopped seven shots in the cage. Junior Christina Gibson (Jarrettsville, Md.) paced the SU defense with a team-best two caused turnovers.

Vanderbilt (11-6) started the game strong, scoring just 34 seconds into the contest. The Commodores added another goal with 25:25 remaining to grab a 2-0 advantage. Dove got the Orange on board with a free-position goal with 21:24 remaining and after Vanderbilt responded with a goal of its own, Dove capped a 3-0 SU run with her second score of the afternoon.

The Commodores responded with a goal to tie the game at four, but the Orange recorded the next two scores to take the lead for good. Rowan and Pike each tallied goals to give the Orange a two-goal advantage. The two schools then traded a pair of goals as Syracuse headed into intermission with an 8-6 advantage.

The Orange came out firing in the second half as Dove notched her fourth goal of the afternoon 54 seconds in to the second stanza. Vanderbilt responded with the next two goals to pull within one, 9-8, but Quillinan tallied her first goal of day as the Orange regained a two-goal advantage. The teams traded a pair of goals and then Dove, Pike, Pearsall and Brady each notched a goal to give SU the six-goal margin of victory, 16-10.

The Orange, which lost the battle in draw circle 32-9 during the last two games, held a 17-11 advantage in draw controls against the Commodores. Syracuse also outshot Vanderbilt, 30-22.

Vanderbilt was led on the offensive side by Maggie Curran, who matched Rowan and Dove with five goals. Brooke Shinaberry recorded four saves.

The win marked the first NCAA victory for the Orange in school history. Syracuse, which earned the BIG EAST Conference's automatic bid for the first time during the program's history, lost in the NCAA First Round during its previous five visits (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005).

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2007-05-13